Shoreham Incident 06/06/10
 

Had a text or two yesterday from a some guys I know asking what had happened at Shoreham yesterday. I have not been over there for a week so I don't know.

Did anything happen?

I have no idea how this transpired, but I do know how easily small things can escalate:

The other day I'd just started the engine on a C172 at Lydd, pulled the handbrake and made sure it held. I continued with me checklist and prepping my charts for several minutes whilst intermittently looking outside - still held. Then I took my eyes off it as I was taking down the ATIS and when I looked up the aircraft was in an ever so slight forward creep. Same 1200 RPM, same everything - the handbrake just decided to not play ball all of a sudden. We hadn't traveled more than 2ft, but still. Luckily it doesn't take much time to scribble down an ATIS, or it could have been much further.

I could see how something as innocuous as this could escalate into the above accident, if in a tightly packed parking area or not caught in time.

Lesson? Never trust Cessna parking brakes (especially the 152's - terrible system). Never look down or chase that elusively rolling Maltesters chocolate ball unless you can do so by still having en eye outside.:)

During the runup I firmly put my feet on the brakes and squeeze my knees together to hold the stick full aft. I then have both hands free to perform the runup - one hand on the throttle and the other free to cycle the magnetos and the carb heat. The same for starting the engine by the way.

I'm surprised that instructors/examiners allow their students/examinees to perform power checks or engine starts on parking brakes alone. The parking brake is just that - a brake used when parking the aircraft.

It's especially bad practice for a night VFR/IFR flight as the visual cues that the aircraft is moving unintentionally are far less.

I used to trust the parking brake but after a couple of similar scares I always always jam my feet firmly on the brakes.

It doesn't help that the Piper parking brake ratchet always wears out on the precise spot that the brake normally needs to be held, of course...

Tim

It is easily enough done. I once (2002) started up, and looked down for a bit, then looked up and found the plane had moved about 10 yards! Luckily nothing was in the way and this was a useful early lesson.

How this particular incident happened I have no idea. Very sad, given that both planes must be writeoffs, worth nothing except for the breakup value.

Mine didn't: but then I was taught 16 years ago: perhaps standards are slipping.

In the case of the engine in the 40 it might still be worth nothing

Cessna 152 was parked right next to my aircraft. (Before we go any further, I wasn't there). From what I have heard, the engine started with full throttle set, no brakes and no chocks. There was (as usual) a row of aircraft ahead.

It swerved off to the left (towards the buildings and another row of aircraft - instead of to the right - which leads to a fairly large grass airfield), which would have been a hell of a lot better. The right wing (just where the strut meets the D-box) hit the fin and rudder of G-CDEK and spun the resulting whirling dervish into the rear fuselage of the Diamond. The prop of the Cessna chopped the ar*e end off the DA-40 completely.

Having looked at both aircraft today, the Cessna would probably be OK after a new right wing and prop (with the consequent engine shock load test).

Having seen the inside of the severed DA-40 rear fuselage, I don't think I will ever go near one of them in the future.

Something tells me that this isn't the first time that the Dirty Dozen machine has been involved in an assault?

I've never trusted light aircraft parking brakes, I always hold the footbrakes nowadays. I had a C172 creep towards the holding point yellow line at Cardiff once while i held short for a 757 on final. I only just noticed in time... Bet the pilots and controller thought I was taking the pi$$

And for a good look at this one, a high res photo...

Pic

Not sure it's possible to repair that rear fuselage, if it was an F1 car it would be a new "tub" required - could you even do that with a DA40?

I think repair would be out of the question. Two written off aircraft me thinks :sad:

Looks like the cessna will just need a new prop spinner and the engine overhauled, the DA40 on the other hand....

I'm with CJBoy, i've seen repairs done to aircraft that have had the tail snapped off before. It's fairly specialist, whether it's cost effective or not remains to be seen.

D'oh! I'd echo the point about the C172's park brake - they are, without fail, hopeless.

It does'nt show on the photo but the cessna has wrinkles all over its body. I can't imagine Diamond are into repairing monocoques and they wont sell you a replacement one.

rjay - c150 starboard wing is rippled also i believe.

The C15x has major damage to the RH wing leading edge; about 6" deep. You could stick your head inside the hole. No idea if it can be fixed with a re-skin, but it is a huge damage. How one would trust the spar after that kind of hit I don't know.

The repairs are certain to cost more than the aircraft value which is probably £20k.

IO540 - I think you're spot on with figures there!

Well in any event I feel sure both aircraft's C of A's may be invalidated :\

I can't see why. A few years ago one chap at Shoreham started up the PA28 with the towbar still attached. Took a big dent (about 1" diameter) out of the prop, chucked the towbar away, went for a flight, and said nothing. Not suprising really - nobody taught me anything in the PPL about shock loading, etc.

:)